


A World Without Maps

by ellieinwonderland



Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-23
Updated: 2013-11-03
Packaged: 2017-11-26 16:02:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/652013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellieinwonderland/pseuds/ellieinwonderland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fresh off of a plane from Russia, Blaine Anderson is trying to find a new life for himself in The Big Apple. But being an illegal immigrant is proving to cause more problems than he ever anticipated. So, after a hook up with one Kurt Hummel, Blaine gets an idea that could allow him to stay. But one question remains, does Kurt want him to?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> There's now a playlist for this story on my tumblr, runawaywithmysoul, for those who enjoy music with their reading. It'll be updated before I post each chapter.

America wasn’t everything he thought it would be, but it was still better than anything Blaine had experienced.  Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like he was going to be able to stay there for very much longer.  College had been a bust, and there was no way he was going back home.  He needed to find some way to stay; once the INS found out he wasn’t attending school anymore they would deport him.  That’s why he finds himself searching through immigration rights on a sunny, Saturday afternoon.

_“U.S. immigration officials will not approve an immigrant petition filed by a U.S. citizen for a same-sex spouse”_

_“At present, gay people are deprived of equal immigration rights. In a same-sex relationship, the US citizen partner cannot confer immigration benefits on the noncitizen partner even though they may have been validly married in a foreign country that has legalized same-sex marriages.”_

‘This isn’t helping.  There has to be something.”

_“United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) District Offices have both confirmed that that alien relative petitions and **green card applications filed by married same-sex couples will not be denied.** ”_

Blaine smiles to himself.

   

* * *

        

Turns out that finding a solution to his problem would be the easy part.  Now he had to find someone to go along with his plan.  He couldn’t just go up to some guy in a bar and say “Will you marry me?” in broken English.  But he needed to find someone soon; he could only evade the INS for so long. 

Blaine realized he wasn’t going to find his future husband in an old library, so he went back to his hotel to get ready for tonight.  After all, he had a lot of ground to cover on his ‘husband search’.

    

* * *

       

Kurt had been in New York for a year now.  He knew the best places to go to find the hottest guys in the city.  He loved the feeling of freedom he got when he flirted, kissed, and fucked any guy he wanted.  It was a far cry from Lima, Ohio, where he was bullied for just looking at a guy (like he would want any of those assholes anyway). 

Things were better for him here.  He had a job that he was good at, a roommate he tolerated, and an apartment that wasn’t so terrible (once he repainted and put down rugs).  Did one night stands leave him a little lonely?  Sure.  But it wasn’t like some smart, handsome guy was just going to randomly walk up to him and offer to spend the rest of his life being his loving, devoted husband.  Things didn’t work like that in the real world, as he had already discovered.  Life wasn’t fair.  He wasn’t going to waste any more time looking for love.

He checked himself out in the mirror one last time before grabbing his wallet and keys and leaving the apartment.

 

* * *

 

The club was crowded, it being a Saturday night and everything. 

‘Plenty of guys to choose from’, he thought, ‘Someone who doesn’t have X’s on his hands; I need a drink’.

There’s a blond at the bar that had already caught his eye, but blonds weren’t really his thing.  Not anymore.  But his hands were X free, so maybe he could give him a chance.

He’s flirting with this guy, drinking his second rum and coke, when he sees him across the room.  Much better than the blond.  He has X’s on his hands, but it doesn’t matter because Kurt already has a drink.  He asks the blond if he wants to buy him a beer, and once the bartender puts it in front of him he takes it and excuses himself.

He’s confident as he walks over to this new guy.  He’s done it enough times to know that he’s good, and he doesn’t need to feel nervous.

“Hi, I’m Kurt.  I saw you sitting here and thought you could use a drink”.  He puts down the beer in front of the boy.

“Thank you very much. But how did you get alcoholic drink?  You are having the X’s too.”

“I have my ways.”  ‘He’s cute and foreign.  Looks like I found what I’m doing tonight.”

 

* * *

 

Kurt wakes up to bright sunlight.  He quickly realizes that he’s not in his bed, he’s in… a hotel room?

“Rise and shining.  It is almost twelve.  I have gone to get breakfast from bakery and it will get cold.”

Somewhere in the back of his mind Kurt remembers the accent.

“What happened last night?”

“You came to me at bar.  Brought me beer.  Then you showed me how to get more beer.  So I did.  Then we come back to my hotel and have sex.”

“I got that, considering I’m not wearing clothes.”  He got up slowly from the bed and started the search for his clothes.

“Here, I have them for you.”

“Thanks.  Why aren’t you hungover?”

“What is hungover?”

“Nevermind.”  Kurt felt way too sick to try to explain anything to him right now.  He almost passed out pulling on his pants.

“Would you like a muffin before you go?”

“No.”  All Kurt wanted to do was crawl into his own bed, in his own apartment.

“Would you like coffee?”

“No.  I just really want to go.”

“Would you like to marry me?”

Kurt stopped his search for his keys and looked at this boy, who looked even younger in the daylight.  This had to be the worst hangover of his life.

“What?”

“I need husband.  You say you like me last night.”

“Last night I was drunk.  I would have said anything to get laid.”

“I’ll pay you.  I have money.”

Kurt didn’t say another word. He found his keys and his wallet and left the room.  When the door was closed behind him, he leaned against it.  ‘Worst.  Morning after.  Ever.’  He waited until the urge to throw up passed before he continued down the hall, trying to block out how desperate what’s-his-face had sounded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The immigration information comes from  
> -http://www.ilw.com/articles/2012,0109-shepherd.shtm  
> -http://www.towleroad.com/2011/03/united-states-.html


	2. Chapter 2

The subway ride back home was way too long and loud for Kurt that morning.  He was relieved to step out into the sunlight and out of the unbearable heat, even though it made his head pound.

“Someone got lucky last night,” was the first thing he heard as he unlocked the door of his apartment.

“Well it sure wasn’t me,” Kurt said as he toed off his shoes and headed into the kitchen.  Santana was leaning against the counter, mixing something in a large bowl.

“I know.  It was me,” she said with a smile.  “Bad fuck?”

Kurt leaned against the counter opposite her.  “I don’t actually remember that part.  I do remember his marriage proposal when I woke up this morning though.”

“You have got to be kidding me,” she looked at him in shock."Your one night stand asked you to marry him?  I assume you said no.”

“Of course I said no, Santana.  I don’t even remember his name.”

“Plus you don’t want to be stuck having bad sex for the rest of your life.”

“Ok, since you obviously don’t get the real issue here I’m going to take a shower.”

“Hold on.  Here, take these.”  She held out two Tylenol and a glass of water.  “Also, I’m making pancakes.”

“Just when I think you’re completely insensitive to real feelings you do something nice like this.”

“I’m not just doing this for you.  We have company.”

“In that case I’m glad I stayed out all night.  My noise cancelling headphones broke last week,” Kurt said as he walked to his room.  He went over to his dresser to grab some sweats and a hoodie.  Today was definitely a day to do nothing.  He took his clothes into the bathroom and locked the door.  ‘The last thing I need is for Satan’s one night stand to walk in on me in the shower.’

As he started pushing his pants down his legs, he felt something in his pocket.  It was a note written on hotel stationary.  ‘I know I screw up.  But maybe you would like to have coffee and I can explain.’  It was signed ‘Blaine’, and had a phone number at the bottom.

Kurt put the note on the counter and continued getting undressed.  ‘I cannot deal with this right now.’  He looked at himself in the mirror before stepping into the shower, and saw bruises and hickeys all over his body.  ‘Wow, he really went for it.’  And his night with Blaine - he had a name now - came flooding into his memory.  ‘Maybe I will call him.  He was kind of nice, and cute, and good in bed.’

 

* * *

 

After a shower, some pancakes, and a semi-awkward encounter with Santana’s one night stand, Kurt found himself lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling.  Next to him were his phone and the folded up note that Blaine had left for him.  On one hand, he knew it was crazy to want to see this guy again.  On the other hand, Kurt felt like maybe this guy wasn’t as strange as he thought he was.  At the very least, Kurt wanted to know the reason behind the proposal.  With that thought, Kurt unlocked his phone and started dialing the number on the paper.

 

* * *

 

Kurt sat at a table in the small coffee shop, waiting for Blaine.  He still wasn’t sure why he was doing this.  The man had actually proposed to him!  He didn’t tell Santana where he was going when he left, he knew she would never let him hear the end of it.  He was just going over what she had said about Blaine over pancakes, when he walked in and stood in line for his coffee.  He looked much younger than he did last night at the club, and not for the first time, Kurt wondered why he seemed so desperate to get married. 

Blaine got his coffee and looked around for Kurt, finding him sitting in a corner booth by the window.  Blaine walked over to him, feeling nervous and trying to keep himself from bolting out of the coffee shop.  ‘I proposed to him.  I asked him for coffee.  I can’t leave him here.’

“Hello, Kurt,” he said with trepidation.

“Hi, Blaine.  Have a seat.”  Blaine could tell Kurt was nervous too, with the way he was fidgeting with his coffee cup.

“I guess you want explanation.”

“Yes, please.”

This time it was Blaine’s turn to toy with his coffee cup.  “I come to America few months ago, for school.  I was going to Columbia to become lawyer.  But I do not want to become lawyer, so I drop out.  But now, I need to stay in country.  I do not want to go back.  So,” Blaine concluded, “I need green card.”

“So, you’re basically asking me to help you fool the U.S. government?”  Kurt could not believe the situation he was in.  “Because even if I said yes - which I’m not - it would be a fake marriage, and they could send me to jail and deport you if they found out.  And do gay marriages even count?”

“Yes, they do.  And we could work on making it not fake.  We liked each other last night.”

“I told you yesterday morning-“

“Yes, you only wanted sex.” Blaine interrupted. “But I need this, and you were nice.  And you would not have called if you were not wanting me.”

He had a point there.  Kurt looked out the window before he replied, “Suppose I said yes.  That I would marry you.  What would happen?”

“I would go get you ring.  Then I would come live with you.  Then we would work on marriage to make look real.”

“I’m sure Santana will love that.”

“Who is Santana?”  Blaine inquired curiously.

“My roommate.  She doesn’t even know I’m here with you.  She’s going to throw a fit when I tell her.  I’m not sure how much she’ll want to live with you, she barely tolerates me.”

For the first time in a few minutes, Kurt looked him in the eye.  “Okay.  I’ll do it.”


	3. Chapter 3

Kurt was nervous as he stood outside his apartment door with the keys resting in the lock. He had known Santana for years and he was sure he knew exactly how she was going to react when he told her his news. She was not going to take it well. He contemplated turning around and leaving the building, then calling her from the park or somewhere so he didn’t have to do it face to face. Unfortunately, the choice was taken out of his hands when the door swung open.

Santana stood there smirking. “Are you going to stand there all day or do you need an invitation? You do realize you live here right?”

“Of course I know I live here.” He grabbed his keys out of the lock and set them on the table by the door as he walked past her, before heading into the kitchen to start dinner. It couldn’t hurt to try and get on her good side.

“I thought it was my night to cook.” She said, sounding confused.

“I know. I just thought I’d be nice.” Kurt shrugged.

“Okay, something’s definitely up with you. You don’t just volunteer to cook on your night off.  Did something happen today?”

“Of course not!” Kurt exclaimed. “Why do you ask?”

“Your voice just got higher for one, so I know you’re nervous. Second, you turned on the wrong burner on the stove, which means you’re distracted. So tell me what’s going on now before you accidentally burn down out apartment.”

“Okay. So you remember that guy I was with the other night?” Kurt began hesitantly.

“The bad fuck who wanted to marry you?”

“He wasn’t a bad- You know what? That’s not the point. The point is that I saw him again today.   We had coffee.”

“Oh god, you went on a date with this creep? Please tell me he was just as creepy as he was the other day and that you left him in that coffee shop.”

“Actually, we had coffee and we walked around the park for a while afterwards. He was nice.”

“What is wrong with you? You know this guy is just some loser who’s so lonely that he’ll agree to marry any guy that crosses his path just so he won’t die alone.”

Kurt spoke after a moment of silence for his dignity, “I’m going to do it.”

“Do what?”

“Marry him.”

There was a long stretch of silence before, “I… How…” It was official. Kurt Hummel had officially rendered Santana Lopez speechless.

“He needs a green card to stay in the country, so I’m going to marry him and after a few years and a U.S. citizenship we’ll get divorced. We talked about everything this marriage entails today and I think it could work.”

“But… I don’t…”

“And I’d like your permission before officially inviting him to live with us because I like to believe I’m not a terrible roommate. Here, have some wine.” He quickly grabbed a glass out of the cabinet and poured some of their not-so-cheap wine. She needed it. ‘I wonder what we would do in times of crisis without her fake ID.’

She took a few sips of her wine (she may have been in a state of shock but she knew not to waste the good stuff) before speaking. “So you’re asking my permission to move in your fiancé who you’ve known for less than 72 hours?”

“Yes… Yes I am.”

She took another sip. “I guess I would have to say okay. I mean I wouldn’t even have a place to stay in New York if it weren’t for you. And I mean, I’ve done stupid shit too and you’ve supported me through that. So I guess it’s only fair that I support you in what might be the stupidest thing known to man. And I hope you don’t live to regret it.”

“I’ll ignore the insult and take your blessing. Thank you, Santana.”

“Whatever. This just means my rent got cheaper. He’s paying rent, right?”

“Yeah, of course. After he gets a work visa. I’m going to go call him, alright? He’s living in a hotel and I don’t want him to have to pay for more nights if he’s going to have to start paying rent.  Also, do you think you can finish up dinner?” Kurt said as he turned to leave for some privacy.  “It is your night after all.” He practically ran to his room to avoid any protestations on her part.

“I’m regretting this already!” She yelled after him.

Kurt made quick work of dialing Blaine’s number as soon as he had the door securely shut behind him.

“Hey Blaine. Yeah, it’s me. So do you think you’ll be okay to check out tomorrow morning?

 …

Yeah, she said it was okay. You are going to help pay rent right?

…

Just checking.

…

Okay. I’ll text you the address when I hang up. See you tomorrow.”

* * *

The morning found Santana awakening to a loud knock on the apartment door. The apartment wasn’t so big, but it echoed. She buried her head in her pillows and hoped Kurt was already on it.

Another echoing knock. No such luck.

As she walked to the door she stopped at Kurt’s room with the intent of barging in and shaking him awake, but his door was open and his bed was made.

‘Maybe he went out and left his keys.’ When she opened the door, however, it was not Kurt.  It was a rather short, curly-haired boy.

“Who are you and what do you want, hobbit?”

“I am Blaine. Kurt told me to come. You are Santana?”

“Oh my god. Are you his fiancé?”

“Yes, I am.” He seemed rather proud of that fact.

“Of course you are. Come in I guess. Though I have no idea where Kurt is. Maybe he had second thoughts and went back to Ohio.”

“Okay. Where do you want my stuff?” Blaine asked as he picked up one of his boxes and walked into the apartment.

“I don’t want your stuff anywhere. Put it all in Kurt’s room. It’s right there.”  She pointed to the door closest to her. She stumbled into the kitchen where, thankfully, there was a pot of coffee. She added her creamer as she watched Blaine haul his stuff from the hallway into his new apartment. She took this time to observe her new roommate. He wasn’t that bad looking, and Kurt could do worse. She just really hoped this wouldn’t blow up in all their faces.

“Hey! Why is this door open? Oh. Hi Blaine.” Kurt seemed shocked to see Blaine in his apartment.

“Your fiancé, I swear I will never get used to saying that, came and woke me up at the crack of dawn with his obnoxious knocking.”

“Santana, it’s 10 o’clock. Anyway, do you need some help, Blaine?”

“No thank you, Kurt. I am almost done with boxes.”

“Well I got breakfast for everyone. I thought it would be nice to have something fancy for our first day living together, all three of us.”

“Oh happy day.” Santana drawled.

“Don’t ruin this Satan.”

* * *

Breakfast was eaten in silence; everything felt a little awkward between the three. Kurt made a gesture towards Santana that she interpreted as ‘talk to him please’. She rolled her eyes at his attempt to get them talking.

“So Blaine, where are you from?”

Blaine looked genuinely surprised that she was acknowledging him. But he answered nonetheless, “Moscow. I lived there all my life until I come here for school.”

“So you go to school in New York?”

“No. I dropped out because I did not like it very much. That is why I need help getting green card. If I went to school then I would have visa for four years. But not anymore. Luckily I have Kurt to help me, right?” Kurt had to admit he liked it when Blaine smiled at him like that.

“So when’s the joyous day when you both commit a federal crime?”

“We were thinking in a few weeks when it cools down a little. We talked about it and decided we didn’t want some quick city hall thing, plus we have to make it look real. So we should probably invite people other than you.”

“Just for the record I think this entire thing is ridiculous.”

“I think I lot of what you do is ridiculous but I keep my mouth shut.”

Blaine was a little overwhelmed sitting at the table watching the two friends go at it. He felt very out of place, but he could only hope that it would get easier. “Excuse me, where is bathroom please?”

“It’s down the hall, first door on your right.”

As Blaine was walking back down the hallway towards the living/dining room, he stopped to admire the pictures of Kurt and Santana’s friends and family on the wall. He stopped at what he assumed was a picture of a younger Kurt and his parents. The three of them looked so happy, especially Kurt. He hoped that one day Kurt would smile at him like that. They might have been entering a fake marriage, but Blaine wanted to make Kurt happy for real.


	4. Chapter 4

“Okay, so I figured I’d ask you some questions while you unpack. I cleaned out half my drawers and maybe ten percent of my closet for your stuff. This nightstand is yours and anything else we will just deal with when we get there. Sound good?”

“Sure.” Blaine was still feeling awkward after breakfast that morning. After he came back from the bathroom Kurt and Santana were smiling and joking with each other. Once he sat down everything got silent again. He tried not to let it bother him. After all, he was the outsider here.  He was the one who intruded on their lives. His only comfort was that Kurt seemed to be trying hard to make him feel at home.

Blaine started with the clothes in his suitcase, putting them into the dresser. As promised, the second, fourth, and sixth drawers were empty.

“So,” Kurt said, interrupting Blaine’s thoughts, “first question: What is your full name?”

“Blaine Nikolayevich Anderson.” Blaine answered.

Kurt looked at him for a few seconds, “Explain to me how you get one Russian sounding name in the middle of two seemingly English ones.”

“My grandfather on my father’s side was from England. I’m named after him.”

“But where does the Niko- Nikola-“

“Nikolayevich? It’s a patronymic,” Blaine explained, “It’s the father’s first name along with an ending depending on if you are a boy or a girl. It’s Russian tradition.”

“So your father is…”

“Nikolay,” Blaine concluded, “And my mother is Sonya. You should write this down.”

“Right,” Kurt agreed, “I’m probably spelling everything wrong.”

“Does not matter. Next question.” Blaine moved on to the boxes. He needed to remember to tell his parents his new address to send him the rest of this stuff.

“When’s your birthday?” Kurt continued.

“April 14, 1995.”

“And you were born and raised in Moscow, right?”

“Yes. And I come here for college to become fancy lawyer.”

“But you don’t want to become a big, fancy lawyer, right? So what do you want to do?”

Blaine walked over and sat on the bed next to Kurt. “You will not laugh?”

“Of course not,” Kurt assured, “Unless you want to become a clown or something. Then I think I’d have to laugh and change my mind about this whole thing.”

“I want to sing.”

“Why would I laugh at that?” Kurt exclaimed, “A lot of people come here because they want to sing, or act, or something like that. I know a lot of people with that dream. I have a friend in California who’s a backup singer. And one who lives in Brooklyn and wants to be on Broadway someday. Of course I’ve never heard you sing so I can’t really tell you if you have a shot of making it or not.”

“I will sing for you one day. But today is for unpacking. Also, there should be an ‘h’ at the end of my patronymic.”

* * *

 

‘Okay, Kurt. This is it. You’ve never had another guy in your bed before. Ever. But this guy is going to be your husband, so you’re going to go in there, pretend you’re not nervous, and go to sleep.’

Kurt pushed open the door. Blaine was already there, typing away on his phone in his matching pajamas. Kurt felt underdressed in his tank top and sweatpants. He sat on what had been officially deemed ‘his side of the bed’, then he slid under the covers.

“I have work in the morning, so my alarm’s going to go off around 6.”  
“I’ll probably sleep through it.”

“I just thought you should know.”

“Thank you.” Blaine put his phone down and slid under the covers next to Kurt. “I was just emailing my father my new address. So he could send more of my stuff.” He leaned over and turned off his light so they were in complete darkness.

“Sounds good. Hey, Blaine?”

“Yes?”

“Do you think this is going to work?” He felt Blaine move closer and shift so he was facing him.  He could see the outline of Blaine’s features from the lights of the city outside.

“Do you want this to work?”

“I really think I do.”

“Then yes, I think this will work.” After a moment, Blaine leaned in to kiss him. They’d done this before, but Kurt knew he’d remember every detail of it this time. Blaine’s lips were soft, yet firm as they kissed. Kurt could definitely get used to this. The kiss deepened and Blaine shifted so his body was on top of Kurt’s. “Is this okay?”  
“Do you not remember the night we met?”

“I just wanted to check. Santana is in the other room.” With that thought, Kurt reached out and grabbed his phone off the nightstand. He sent off a quick text and dropped his phone back onto the table.

“I gave her a warning. Now where were we?” Even through the darkness Blaine could see Kurt’s smile. 

* * *

 

When 6 am came, Kurt had to fight every part of him that wanted to stay in bed. He needed this job; actually, he loved this job. But right now there was a whole lot of naked boy around him and for once, he didn’t feel the need to rush out. But this time he had to. He slid out from under Blaine’s arm and out of bed so he could go and take his shower.

When he came back fifteen minutes later, Blaine was in the same place, but he had kicked off the sheet (it was, after all, shaping up to be another hot summer’s day). As Kurt looked at Blaine lying there, his only thought was ‘The universe really doesn’t want me to go to work today’. As much as it pained him to do so, he put the lightest sheet back over Blaine. He reluctantly pulled his eyes away and turned to his closet, _their_ closet now, to find something stylish, yet appropriate, for summer.

He was sat on the edge of the bed, pulling on his shoes, when two arms wrapped around his torso, “Are you sure you cannot stay?”

“I can’t. I both love and need this job. And as much as I would like staying home and getting to know you better, I really have to go. But if you’re not doing anything around noon, you can come and have lunch with me,” Kurt finished with his shoes and stood up to leave. “I’ll text you in a few hours where to meet me okay?”

“Okay. Aren’t you going to kiss me before you go?” Kurt turned around to look at Blaine, completely wrapped in the sheet.

“Of course.”

As Kurt descended the stairs to the subway he could only think of how domestic they’d already become, and how this could definitely work.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been two weeks since Blaine moved in with Kurt and Santana. They were all slowly adjusting to each other’s presence in the apartment and falling into a routine. Kurt would wake up at 6 am, turn on the coffee maker, shower, and get dressed. At 7:15 he would head out to his job at Vogue, coffee cup in hand. Fifteen minutes later Santana would stumble into the kitchen, pour herself coffee then head back into her room. She showered, got dressed, and left for her job as a waitress at 8:45. At 9, Blaine’s alarm would wake him up and he would finish off the pot of coffee in the kitchen. He would then rinse out the pot and set it up for coffee the next day before getting dressed. Blaine would leave the apartment and spend the next 8 or so hours exploring the city and trying desperately to find a job. As it turns out, he wasn’t a very good candidate for employment.

He was getting more and more frustrated as the days went by. For one, he felt bad that he was not contributing as much as Kurt and Santana. He felt like a burden. He also needed a temporary work visa to buy him and Kurt more time before they got married, which he couldn’t get until after he had found a job. And after two weeks of nothing he was willing to do almost anything.

It was almost lunch time so he headed towards the nearest café. He took a seat outside in an attempt to enjoy the nice weather while it lasted. 

As he sipped on his lemonade his attention was drawn across the street where he could hear loud music coming from inside the establishment. There were groups of men filtering into the doors and every time they opened the music got louder and he could hear cheering. He decided he would check it out once he was done his lunch; it wasn’t like he had anything else to do.

* * *

 

“So how was the job hunting today, Blaine?” Kurt asked over dinner that night.

“It went alright. I think I found a place that might give me job.”

“That’s great, Blaine!”

“Yeah, because we can’t keep supporting you like this.”

“It’s only been a couple weeks Santana. And it’s not like he isn’t trying.” 

Kurt always defended him against Santana.

“I am trying. Really hard. It is just difficult. But these people said they will call me, which is more than anyone else says.”

* * *

 

Blaine got the call a few hours later. They said they liked him and could he come in tomorrow for training. Blaine was nervous but he knew he had to do this for Kurt.

* * *

 

“So what I want you to do today is just observe the other dancers then when there’s a lull we’ll have you try out a routine. Sound good?”

“That is fine.” 

Blaine tried to sound confident, but he felt like he was about to pass out. In a few hours he was going to be up on that stage, wearing next to nothing, dancing in front of strangers.

“Don’t be nervous. I wouldn’t have called you if I didn’t think you had talent.”

“Thank you…I think.”

“So just take a seat and watch Cam. He’s one of the best.” 

Blaine sat down relatively close the stage where the blond, Cam, was grinding against a pole.  ‘What have I gotten myself into?’

* * *

 

Blaine was putting his work visa application in its envelope when Kurt came into the room and sat down next to him on the bed. “So how was your day?”

“It was good. I had training for work. But I cannot start until my visa comes.”  
“Is that the application?” He pointed to the envelope, “I can send it for you when I go to work tomorrow.”

“Yes. Thank you,” He gave the envelope to Kurt, who put it next to his phone on the nightstand. 

“So what would you like to know tonight?” Kurt and Blaine had taken to asking questions about each other before they went to bed at night. Kurt slid under the blankets and turned to face Blaine, who mirrored Kurt’s actions.

“Tell me about your past boyfriends.”

“There is nothing to tell.”

“You’ve never had a boyfriend?”

“No. Being gay is not accepted in Russia, I could never tell anyone. That is why I wanted to come to America; I could be myself here.”

“I’m so sorry. I mean, I wasn’t accepted in Ohio, but I never felt the need to hide who I was. It must have been so hard.”

“It was. But I’m here now. I am in America, I have job, a place to live, and I have you.” 

Kurt couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. Until something occurred to him.

“Was I your first?”

“Of course you were. I just told you there was no one else.”

“Oh... Was it good for you?”

“If it wasn’t I wouldn’t be here right now. You don’t marry someone who is bad at sex. That would be terrible.”

“Then I’m glad it was good. My first time was not.”

“Do you want to tell me about it?”

“Not really,” Kurt thought about for a second, “I mean, there’s not much to talk about. It didn’t mean anything, and the guy didn’t really care if I felt good. It’s just something I’d rather forget.”  ‘Like most things that happened to me in Ohio.’

Kurt sounded so sad and all Blaine could do was lean in and kiss him, “I’m very glad I was with you. You made sure I felt good.”

“I wish I could remember it.”

“It’s okay if you don’t. As long as you promise to make me feel that good every time.”

“Deal.”

* * *

 

“So where exactly are we going?” Blaine had come home and told Kurt to stop cooking dinner and to dress nice.

“We are going to go visit Santana at her work.”

“Then why did I have to get dressed up? It’s not like it’s a really fancy place.”

“Why do you question me? Do you not trust me?”

“I trust you. But I was looking forward to having pancakes in my pajamas tonight.”

“We’re here.”

“I know. I’ve been here before.”

Blaine walked up to the hostess and gave her his name. He asked Santana to make a reservation for him; he wanted everything to go well tonight.

“Your table is right this way gentlemen.” 

The two followed her back to a fairly secluded area of the restaurant, “Your waitress will be out in a moment to take your drink orders.”

Ordering their drinks was unnecessary; because when Santana came over to them she brought a bottle of champagne, “Hello. I’m Santana and I’ll be your waitress tonight.”

“We know, Santana.”

“Hush Kurt, I’m being professional. I’ve brought out our finest champagne for you two,” Kurt was not about to complain about that as she poured their drinks, “Do you need another minute to decide what you want to order?”

“Yes we do. Thank you Santana.” Santana walked away, smiling to herself. She may not have approved of this at the beginning but Blaine was starting to grow on her.

“That was weird. She’s a lot more laid back when I usually come here.”

“Maybe her boss told her she needed to be better or he would get rid of her.”

“No, that can’t be it. She brought us alcohol even though we’re underage.”

“Are you always this suspicious when people are nice?” Blaine took a sip of his champagne; he paid for the best, and he wasn’t disappointed.

“When Santana is nice? Yes I am.”

The rest of the meal passed with more suspicion when Santana brought them food they didn’t order, like the lobster. Then the cheesecake.

“I _love_ this cheesecake.”  
“I know you do. That’s why I told Santana to bring it.”

“You told her? I thought she was just buttering me up to do her some sort of favor.”

“No. I just wanted this night to be special for you. It _is_ our first date,” At that Kurt put down the fork with a bite of uneaten cheesecake.

“I didn’t even realize that. Wow. I’m a terrible fiancé.”

“You’re actually the perfect fiancé. And a perfect fiancé deserves the perfect ring.” 

With that statement, Blaine pulled out a box from his jacket pocket. “Usually the proposal comes a while after the first date.” He opened the box and took out the [ring](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRqXu6M76z3ZhsjetiE0HKQxQyQZVaPF_9HN0c-zTIcmYggWQ6wOQ). “Kurt Hummel, will you marry me?”

“Of course I will.” 

Even though the actual proposal came weeks ago, Kurt knew that this was the one he was going to remember. Kurt looked down at the ring after Blaine slipped it on his finger, “It’s beautiful.”

“It was my grandmother’s engagement ring. When my grandfather died he left it to me.”

“I love it,” Kurt leaned over to kiss Blaine, “Best first date ever.”


	6. Chapter 6

Two weeks later Kurt and Blaine found themselves walking through Central Park discussing their wedding plans. Blaine’s work visa would give them a few extra months of planning, but they didn’t want to delay the wedding too long in case something went wrong.

“So is there anyone you want to invite, Blaine?”

Blaine thought about it for half a second, then, “No.”

“No? Really?”

“Everyone I know is in Russia. It does not make sense for them to come to wedding. I don’t even know if they would approve and I do not want them stopping me from marrying you.”

“I guess that makes sense. But I still feel weird that only my friends and family will be there.”

“Have you told anyone?”

“No. I mean, I need to tell my dad soon. He’s the one I’m most worried about. I know he loves me and wants the best for me, and I know he probably won’t take it well.”

“You should do it sooner rather than later.”

“I know. Santana keeps telling me the same thing. And I will, I promise. Do you want to get some coffee?”

“Of course.”

* * *

 

“I know I definitely want roses, but I’m not sure-.”

“Kurt!” He turned at the sound of his name and was greeted by the sight of Rachel Berry, just as unstylishly dressed as ever.

“Oh no.”

“Kurt! It’s been so long!”

“Hi Rachel. It’s actually only been a month since we last saw each other.”

“I know but it feels like forever,” She sat down across from Blaine with her coffee. She looked at Blaine, then at Kurt, wordlessly urging him for an introduction.

“Rachel this is Blaine. Blaine this is Rachel. She went to high school with me and Santana.”

“It is very nice to meet you, Rachel.” Blaine was excited about meeting another of Kurt’s friends, but confused by Kurt’s reaction to her. She seemed nice enough.

“So where are you from Blaine? Eastern Europe?”

“Yes, I am from Russia.”

“I thought so. I’m very good at recognizing accents. Well I hope you are enjoying our wonderful city. Are you here for school or vacation or…?”

“I live here. It will be permanent in a few months but I have temporary visa now.”

“Oh. That’s nice. And how do you and Kurt know each other?”

“We-“

“Look at the time! We should go Blaine. We have that thing, remember?” Blaine was looking confusedly up at Kurt, having no memory of anything they had to do, but he played along anyway.

“Yes. We should go now. It was nice meeting you Rachel.”

She may have been obnoxious, but Rachel Berry was _not_ stupid. She noticed the way Kurt rushed Blaine out in the middle of a sentence. She also noticed the ring on Kurt’s left hand.

* * *

 

It was hours later. Kurt sat on the couch reading Vogue with Blaine’s head in his lap. It was quiet except for soft [music](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-XQ26KePUQ) playing from Kurt’s iPod. Santana had been moonlighting at different bars to make some extra cash, so they had the apartment all to themselves.

“This is nice.”

“Yeah, it is.”

It was quiet for another moment before, “Why did you rush us out of Starbucks today? I liked talking to your friend.”

Kurt set his Vogue on the coffee table and looked down at Blaine, “I can’t really say she’s my friend. I mean, we didn’t get along really well in high school, and-“

“Kurt. Just tell me why I wasn’t supposed to talk to her.”

“I just didn’t want you telling her about us.”

“Are you ashamed of me?”

“What? Of course I’m not ashamed of you. I just don’t want her to be the first to know. If you told her, she’d tell everyone, and I’d have to deal with everyone at one time. I just want to tell people in my own time. You understand that, right?”

“I do. Just wanted to check.”

Kurt should’ve realized that things were never meant to go his way.

* * *

 

The next day when Blaine got the mail he was excited to find that his work visa had come. He all but ran up the stairs, but as he stood outside his door, he heard Kurt yelling. He opened the door and saw Kurt on the phone; he looked angry, hurt, and unbelievably upset.

“It doesn’t matter because she had no right to tell you!”

Blaine could vaguely hear a voice on the other end of the line yelling back. Blaine wasn’t sure what it was about but as he went to comfort Kurt he was pushed away. Kurt didn’t even look at him as he stormed into his room and slammed the door.

Blaine now had a very bad feeling about his upcoming marriage, and was suddenly relieved to have a backup plan. But as he stared down at his temporary visa he couldn’t help but wish that he wouldn’t need to depend on it.

* * *

 

Kurt was enjoying his day off. Santana was at the restaurant and Blaine had training since he couldn’t legally work yet. He was flipping through the channels when his phone rang. The screen showed a picture of him and his dad at his graduation, “Hey, Dad.”

“Hey. Are you at work? I’m not bothering you, am I?”

“No, I have the day off. What are you calling for?”

“Can’t a guy just check in on his son?”

“You’re right. I’m sorry for believing you had an ulterior motive.”

“Yeah, you know since you mentioned it, I heard something interesting from Finn today.”

“Really?” Kurt felt a little nervous for some reason. “Yeah. You know he still talks to Rachel sometimes?” Uh-oh.

“They’re friends. Why shouldn’t they talk?” Kurt tried to keep the nervousness out of his voice.

“Well apparently someone that we all know and love is engaged. Now what do you think about that?”

Kurt tried to control his voice when he said “I think that it’s exciting and we all should be happy for whoever it is and not yell at them.”

“Kurt!”

“Yeah, Dad?”

“You are engaged! We didn’t even know you were in a relationship! What am I supposed to think when Rachel of all people is the one to tell me my son’s getting married?”

Kurt stood up and started pacing the room; he couldn’t stay sitting while he was being yelled at. He briefly noticed that Blaine had come home and was standing in the doorway, but didn’t acknowledge him.

“It doesn’t matter because she had no right to tell you!”

“Well if she didn’t tell me who would?”

Blaine walked over and tried to comfort him, but Kurt couldn’t deal with him right now and pushed him away. He needed to be away from Blaine so he stormed into his room, slamming his door in anger.

“I was going to tell you when I was ready, Dad. We haven’t told anyone yet except Santana but only because she lives with us.”

“Us? You live together?”

“Will you just let me finish? I wanted to tell you on my own terms. I wanted this to be my decision! My decision to tell you that I’m with someone and that I’m going to marry him soon! Mine! Not hers! And I hate that you call me up angry and that you can’t even be happy for me or-“

“Kurt.”

“What?” He didn’t even realize that he was crying until his tears dropped onto his shirt.

“I’m really sorry, buddy. I should’ve let you come to me first. But it just caught me off guard. You’ve mentioned one guy since you’ve been out there, and you only mentioned him once. Is it the same guy?”

“No.”

“You just never seem to tell me anything anymore.”

“I’m really sorry, Dad.”

“Me too. So do you want to tell me about him? How long have you known each other?”

Kurt couldn’t lie to his dad. “About a month and a half.” He could hear his father try to control his breathing.

“You’re engaged to someone you’ve known for less than two months?” He knew he was trying to keep himself from yelling again.

“He needs a green card. But he’s really nice and I’m sure you guys will-”

“Kurt. What are you doing? It’s like you’ve become this entirely different person. You don’t do this type of thing. You don’t just marry random guys. You like romance and all that Prince Charming shit.”

“You’re right, Dad. It is shit. In the year I’ve been here and the other eighteen I’ve lived in Ohio I have realized that all that doesn’t exist. I’m never going to find my Prince Charming. I gave up on that a long time ago. But Blaine is nice, he likes me, and he wants to be with me. For me, that’s enough.”

“I just didn’t think you were the type of kid to settle for that.”

“Yeah. Me neither.”

* * *

 

Blaine didn’t come to bed that night. Kurt assumed he was sleeping on the couch but he couldn’t really bring himself to care. He could only focus on what his dad had said about him settling. What if by some miracle he met the love of his life while he was married to Blaine? Would Blaine let him go? What if this was just a giant mistake and he’s going to ruin the rest of his life by getting married? Suddenly the beautiful, been-in-the-family-for-years ring felt like it weighed a million pounds. Could he really do this? Or was he going to have to tell Blaine to leave?


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long a/n ahead.
> 
> 1\. Sorry this took so long. One (important) part refused to be written, and i'm still not sure it sounds right. Also I didn't have as much free time over Spring Break as I thought I would to finish it.
> 
> 2\. It will be a while for chapter 8, considering I haven't even started it yet. And I'm about to start my last month and a half of college, so I'll be very busy. But I'll try to work on this story between research papers.
> 
> 3\. I will never abandon this story. It's my baby.
> 
> 4\. Slight trigger warning for this chapter, it references events from On My Way, but not in a lot of detail.
> 
> 5\. I think that's it. Thanks for reading!

Days after the conversation with his dad, Kurt still hadn’t decided what to do about Blaine. On one hand, he had made a promise to Blaine, and going back on his word would hurt Blaine, and on some level, himself. On the other hand, his dad had a valid point when he brought up the complications that arise when you’re in a fake marriage.

At least he was given some space to work things out because the day after Blaine’s work visa arrived, he started his new job. His hours were all over the place so Kurt and Blaine had little interaction. Blaine was still sleeping on the couch and Kurt was trying to avoid him at all costs. The only time they were around each other was over dinner where they had Santana as a buffer.

However, Santana was getting tired of their shit. She had warned Kurt before he got into this situation; she warned him that something like this would happen. She had known Kurt for years and she knew, even if he didn’t, that he wanted out of his arrangement with Blaine. But over the past month and a half Santana had grown to almost like Blaine. He helped with rent, dinner, shopping, and cleaning. And strange as it was she could honestly say she enjoyed his presence, not that she would ever admit it out loud. Of course she felt obligated to side with Kurt, considering all he had done for her, but there was something about Blaine that made her want to protect him.

It could’ve been the fact that she knew where he worked. To make some extra cash she had started moonlighting as a bartender, which meant she frequented establishments such as the one where Blaine danced almost every day and/or night; which is why she felt the need to confront Kurt about his behavior. She knew stripping was only a temporary job until they got married and Blaine could start pursuing his dream of being a singer or performer or whatever; this was just a stepping stone for him. But if Kurt backed out of the engagement what would happen to Blaine? Blaine, who had nowhere else to go, who took a job he didn’t enjoy just to be able to contribute something. Without Kurt, Blaine had nothing.

The next night that Blaine worked the night shift Santana decided to have a talk with Kurt.  The two were at the table digging into a tub of ice cream.

“So do you want to tell me what’s going on with you and Blaine?”

“Nothing’s going on with me and Blaine,” Kurt rushed out.

“Sure. That’s why he’s been on the couch for the past week. What happened? You guys were fine. You actually passed for a real couple.”

“Blaine and I ran into Rachel last week.”

“Nothing good can come of ‘I ran into Rachel’ but continue.”

“She saw my ring and told Finn, who told my dad, and then we had this big argument and he just… He got me thinking. What if this doesn’t work? What if I find someone else? What if _he_ finds someone else? What if we get caught?” Kurt put his head down on the table and mumbled, “What have I gotten myself into?”

“I know it’s cliché, but I told you so. I told you that you shouldn’t do this. But now I’m telling you that you _are_ going to marry Blaine.”

Kurt shot up in his seat, “What?”

“You made a promise to him. You said you would marry him and you moved him into this apartment. His life basically depends on you. And I won’t let you do this to him,” She was getting pretty angry by this point, “You knew that this was a fake marriage, you knew exactly what you were getting into, and you said yes anyways. You can’t go back on this now. You promised,” With that she dropped her spoon into the tub and went to her room, leaving Kurt in a state of shock. He wasn’t expecting Santana to react that strongly, he didn’t even know she liked Blaine.

Kurt went to bed that night feeling even worse than he had all week. Both his dad and Santana had valid points. But he still wasn’t sure what he wanted. He must have been tired enough to fall asleep though, because when Blaine came home he woke up. Every night when Blaine got home from work he would take a quick shower, then sneak into Kurt’s room to grab some pajamas. Tonight was no exception.

As Blaine pulled on his pants Kurt spoke, “You can sleep in here tonight.” 

Blaine was surprised Kurt was awake, so much so that he tripped and crashed into the dresser.

“I did not think you would be awake.”

“I haven’t been sleeping well. You probably haven’t either; I know that couch is uncomfortable.  You can sleep in the bed again.”

“I do not think that is a good idea Kurt. You are mad at me and I do not want to bother you more,” Blaine grabbed his shirt and rushed out of the room.

‘Maybe I won’t even have to make a decision. Maybe he’ll just leave.’ Once Kurt thought that he felt terrible. He didn’t really want Blaine to leave. ‘How hypocritical. I don’t want him to leave me but I’m considering kicking him out. What am I going to do?’ Kurt barely slept that night, knowing that Blaine was probably out on that couch even more miserable than him.

* * *

 

Santana may have been a lesbian but she still appreciated the way Blaine moved his body against that pole. He had been here for a few weeks and he was already one of the most popular dancers. There was no doubt that Blaine knew he was attractive and he made sure everyone in the club knew it too. He was completely confident up on that stage; dancing around in his underwear for total strangers.

Santana was sure that after this Blaine would have no problem singing in front of a crowd.  Santana watched as Blaine crawled to the edge of the stage so the men could shove bills into his tight briefs. One of the men was particularly handsy with him and Santana was reminded why she kept moonlighting here, even though she could’ve made more money at a straight strip club. Blaine may have known what he was doing up on that stage but he was still pretty naïve about some things. Santana never wanted him hurt or taken advantage of; she didn’t want anything to ruin the only innocence he had left.

Blaine had no idea how some men could be. Kurt had mentioned in passing how he was Blaine’s first _everything_. As far as she knew, Blaine had never experienced how spiteful men could be when rejected.

Therefore, Santana decided she would serve as guardian angel until Blaine got out of this place.

* * *

 

Kurt brought up his holiday plans over dinner one night, one that all three were present for, “I talked to my dad today. He gave me permission to buy us all plane tickets with my emergency credit card to fly back to Ohio for Thanksgiving.”

“Don’t bother buying one for me. I’m not going back.”

“Why not, Santana? Don’t you want to see everyone in glee club?”

“I really don’t.”  
“Well we can’t just leave you here by yourself! That’s too depressing.”

“Then leave Blaine here with me.”

“I can’t. My family wants to meet him and my dad thought this was the perfect opportunity.”

During this exchange Blaine just sat there looking confused, “I am sorry to interrupt, but what is this ‘Thanksgiving’?”

“It’s basically a holiday where we celebrate stealing land from the Native Americans.” 

That didn’t clear up any of his confusion, but he kept his mouth shut, assuming someone would explain it to him better later. But apparently he was going home with Kurt to celebrate it with his family.

* * *

 

 

“Are you sure we should have left Santana all alone?” Blaine felt guilty for abandoning her on what seemed to be an important holiday.

“She’ll be fine. I’m sure she already has company over,” Ever since Blaine moved in Santana had been reluctant to bring girls home. He was sure she was already taking advantage of the fact that he and Blaine were out of the apartment for a few days.

“Okay.” Kurt knew Santana better than he did so he took his word for it. “The only time I was on a plane was when I come here. I was so scared and hungry because the food was very bad.  The whole flight was horrible.”

“I’m sure. Luckily the flight’s not that long.”

What Blaine failed to mention about that horrible flight was that Blaine had terrible airplane sickness.

* * *

 

The first glimpse Burt Hummel got of his son-in-law to be was not the best. The boy he assumed was Blaine was sitting on a suitcase drinking a bottle of water and looking very pale. And there was his son wiping Blaine’s face with a wet paper towel. Burt walked over to the pair.

“Hey, son.”

“Hey, dad. This is Blaine.” Kurt didn’t even look over; he was so focused on making Blaine feel better.

“Hello Mr. Hummel,” Blaine said in a truly pathetic voice, “It is nice to meet you finally.”

“It’s nice to meet you too.”  
“Blaine got really sick on the plane.”

“I got that. Do you think he’ll be okay in the car?”

“Can I lie down in the car?”

“Of course you can, honey. Come on, let’s go.”

* * *

 

Once they were all back at the Hudson-Hummel household they had a proper reunion. Blaine had fallen asleep in the car, but when he woke up he felt better and ready to meet Kurt’s family. They all knew the reason Blaine was here; Burt had explained the whole ‘green card’ business. It didn’t stop Carole from giving Blaine a hug or admiring Kurt’s ring. Burt had met the boy at a weak moment, so any intimidation he planned was derailed. Kurt was still mad at Rachel, and by extension Finn, so Kurt had little contact with him until he pulled Kurt aside and apologized to him. And so began Blaine’s first night with the Hudmels.

* * *

 

Thanksgiving morning found Kurt and Blaine at the grocery store. Carole had forgotten all about dessert so she sent the boys out to get something premade. However, Kurt was not having anything premade for Blaine’s first Thanksgiving. He stood looking at the different pie fillings; pumpkin pie was classic, so he needed to make at least one. But he wanted something different.

“But they were just so big! How did those people control them?” Blaine had watched his first Thanksgiving parade this morning with Burt and Finn, and he could not stop talking about it.  Kurt almost felt bad about taking Blaine to Ohio, Kurt might have even taken him to the parade if they were home. Maybe. He was in the middle of his musings on pie and parades when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Apparently Carole didn’t have enough green beans for the casserole.

“Blaine, can you go get a couple cans of green beans? Carole doesn’t have enough. I’ll meet you at the checkout, okay?”

“Of course, Kurt! I will be fast.” Blaine was so eager to please sometimes.

Kurt finally decided that apple pie would be a good alternative to pumpkin. He put the filling into his basket and headed towards the checkout.

“Kurt!”

He turned around at the sound of his name.

“Dave. Hi.” 

He hadn’t seen Dave Karofsky since the beginning of his senior year.

“So what did your mom forget?”

“What? Oh! Dessert. I got some ingredients for pie.”

“Cranberry sauce.” He held up two cans of said food.

“So, how are things going? Do you still live in Lima or?”

“I go to OSU. And, um,” he lowered his voice, “I have a boyfriend now.”

“That’s really great, Dave. I’m glad you found someone.”  
“So what about you? I heard you moved to New York.”

“Yeah, I live with Santana Lopez.”  
“Wow. That must be…fun. Do you have a boyfriend?”

“Um, not exactly.” Kurt had unconsciously brought his left hand up to fidget with his scarf, which didn’t go unnoticed by Dave.

“Oh, I guess it’s more serious than that then.”  
“What?”

“It’s a nice ring.” Kurt looked down.

“Yeah, it is.” Blaine had chosen that moment to reappear with three cans of green beans.

“I hope I got the right ones, Kurt.”

“You did. Blaine, this is Dave. We went to high school together. Dave, this is Blaine, my fiancé.”  
“It is nice to meet you Dave. Are we leaving now?”

“Yeah. We really need to get started on the pies. It was nice seeing you, Dave.”

“You too, Kurt.”

* * *

 

They were on their way back to the house when Blaine asked, “Was he your boyfriend?”

“What? No. I mean I know he liked me but I didn’t feel the same.” 

He spared Blaine a lot of details because he really didn’t want to go into right at this moment.  Maybe he would tell Blaine someday in the future.

Then something occurred to him. “Were you jealous of him?”

“No. I was just wondering because of the way he looked at you. I thought you might have been close.”

“Well we weren’t. Can we just drop the subject?” The rest of the ride was sat in silence.  Blaine knew Kurt wasn’t telling him something. But then again, there were things Blaine was keeping from Kurt too. So he decided to let it go for now, but he knew everything would eventually come to light.

* * *

 

When they got back to the house, Kurt and Blaine made the pies. Kurt made the pumpkin and Blaine made the apple. While the pies were in the oven he thought about everything he needed to do in the next few weeks. He had work to finish, Christmas shopping, and either finalizing or canceling wedding plans. He was jolted out of his thoughts by a clatter and a curse in a language he didn’t understand. He rushed over to Blaine where he had been chopping vegetables.

“What did you do Blaine?”

“I accidentally cut my hand.”

“Here, run it under the water,” Carole said. “It doesn’t look that deep.”

Kurt turned to rummage through the kitchen drawers, knowing that they had first aid supplies in one of them. He located the roll of gauze and some medical tape, “Come here and let me wrap it up.”

He moved Blaine out of the kitchen to sit on the couch before wrapping his hand with gauze and taping the end.

“There. All better.”

“And that is why I don’t cook.”

“Dad, you don’t cook because you’re just not good at it. I’m going to go finish the vegetables.  You,” he pointed at Blaine, “stay here.”

“Bossy, isn’t he?” Blaine ignored Burt’s words. He knew Kurt just wanted him to be okay and not hurt himself again.

“What are we watching?”

“Football.”  
Blaine was confused. “That is not football.”  
“American football.”

“Oh. I like it.”

* * *

 

The rest of the day passed without incident. Dinner was full of conversation, laughter, and a lot of food. After the dishes were clean, three Hummels, a Hudson, and an Anderson gathered in the living room. The game was over and it was Kurt’s turn to pick something to watch.

“How does Moulin Rouge sound to everyone?”  
“Not again, Kurt!” Finn protested.

“I’ve never seen it,” Blaine stated from his position next to Kurt.

“Then it’s settled. Sorry Finn.”

As the movie started, Blaine moved closer to Kurt. Kurt gestured to his bandaged hand, “Does it still hurt?”

“A little.” Blaine held his hand in front of Kurt’s face. “Kiss it better?” 

Kurt couldn’t deny him when he pouted like that. He took Blaine’s hand and kissed right over the gauze. He put Blaine’s hand back down gently on his own chest, over his heart. At this point Kurt should’ve been relaxed and happy. But while Zidler, Satine, and everyone else pitched their idea to the Duke, Kurt’s thoughts were racing. He thought about his run-in with Karofsky at the grocery store. He wondered how different things would be if he never gave Karofsky the chance to make amends in highs school.

He remembered sitting next to Dave in the hospital, talking about all the possibilities for the future, wishing that he had done something to keep this situation from happening. He knew that he wasn’t to blame, but he felt that he should’ve noticed _something._ Him and Dave weren’t exactly friends, but when he was getting constant calls from him, he should’ve realized something was wrong and picked up the phone, instead of ignoring it.

Kurt wondered what would have happened to Dave if he never made that trip to visit him. If he were never there to reassure Dave that it would get better. That he wasn’t sick like his mom told him. Would he have remained in the closet, marrying a woman and being unhappy for the rest of his life? Would he have tried to take his life again?

Kurt would never know. All he knew was that Dave seemed happier now than Kurt had ever seen him, even when he was one of the most popular guys in school. But he supposed that there was something to be said about giving someone a chance.

Kurt was brought out of his thoughts when Blaine laughed at something on the screen. What if Kurt never gave Blaine a chance? What if Blaine got deported because he couldn’t stay in the country? Kurt knew there was no way Blaine could come out in Russia, so sending him back would be a life sentence to everything Kurt had just thought about: Blaine having to marry a woman, or never getting married at all, spending the rest of his life unhappy because his only chance for a real life was taken from him. Kurt couldn’t do that, not to Blaine. Blaine, who had tried so hard to be everything Kurt wanted, even going so far as to meet a family he may never be related to.

From then on, Kurt decided, he was going to make this work. He and Blaine were going to have an amazing wedding, and they were going to get Blaine permanent citizenship status.

Everything else would work out eventually.

The rest of the night passed uneventfully, with all but Carole and Kurt falling asleep by the end of the movie. As Carole got up to put the movie back in its case, she finally commented on their situation.  “Are you sure you want to marry Blaine? He did fall asleep during your favorite movie. That’s no way to start a relationship.”

Kurt smiled, “He’s just really tired, first Thanksgiving and all. I think I can forgive him this one time.”

* * *

 

Kurt knew better on the flight back to New York. A couple hours before their flight he gave Blaine some Airborne, and the flight was much more enjoyable for everyone involved. He called Santana when they landed; giving her a warning to get any company she had out before they got home. They had left Friday around noon, Blaine having to work that night. Kurt had foregone Black Friday shopping, needing to save money for the wedding that _was_ happening.

* * *

 

Like usual after a night shift, Blaine came home, showered, then went into the dresser to retrieve his clothes. Tonight, Kurt had set an alarm to wake him up when Blaine was home.  Blaine opened the bedroom door in nothing but a towel. He was surprised that the light was on, and even more that Kurt was sitting up waiting for him.

“Hey. Why are you awake? It is after 1 in the morning.”  
“I just really needed to talk to you, but we were both so busy when we got home that we didn’t have time. And I didn’t want you to have to sleep on the couch tonight. I just wanted to say that I’m sorry I’ve been really weird and distant these past few weeks. I was having second thoughts about this whole thing. But now I’m sure of it. I know I am. And I’m sorry if I made you feel bad.”

“Are you really sure?”  
“Yeah. I talked to my boss today about this place she said she could get; a place for us to get married. It’s short notice but she said she can get it for us. And I told her we’re definitely getting married and we definitely want it,” Kurt rushed it all out excitedly, as if he just realized that he gets to plan another wedding.

“I just didn’t want to be, um, left at the alter? I want to make sure you are sure.”

“I am. Very sure.” 

If Blaine needed any more convincing, Kurt’s kiss took care of it, “Believe me now?” Kurt smiled as he pulled back.

“I think I am needing more convincing.” 

Kurt slid his hands from where they had rested on Blaine’s shoulders down to his hips where the towel was secured. One quick tug at the towel and it was off.

“Maybe this will convince you.”


	8. Chapter 8

The first Sunday in December found one Kurt Hummel and one Blaine Anderson in their living room surrounded by papers, magazines, and flower arrangements.

“So like I said before, I really like the white roses, the ones with the dark blue ribbon. Luckily, there are a lot of greenhouses in New York, otherwise we would be flowerless.”

“I have never seen a person so happy about flowers.”

“I’m sorry. I just really love weddings. Plus, this one’s mine. Ours. I meant ours.”

“It is fine, Kurt. It is your wedding. I want you to be happy with it. Also, I was wondering where you would like to go for our honeymoon. I have some money saved and we could go somewhere for a few days.”

Kurt leaned against Blaine and smiled, “Someplace warm. I’ll deal with the sunburn; I just want to be warm.”

Blaine smiled back and rested his cheek on the top of Kurt’s head, “Then I will find someplace warm for you.”

* * *

 

Even after weeks of observation, Kurt still couldn’t figure out the strange relationship between Santana and Blaine.

“Why are you two dancing in the kitchen to a [song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nMrIjBBov8) I only recognize from _I Love Lucy_ reruns?”

“Because apparently your boytoy can dance. This bodes well for your wedding videos.”

“Our dinner is burning though.”

“Lighten up, Kurt. We’ll just order Chinese food.”

* * *

 

“Why did you guys make me eat all that Chinese food?”

“Well if you had kept an eye on the food instead of dancing around like an idiot with Blaine, maybe we could’ve eaten something less greasy.”

“Leave her alone, Kurt. We were just having fun.”

“Let it go, Blaine. Kurt’s just worried he’s not going to fit in his mother’s wedding dress.”

Blaine asked with genuine confusion, “What? Are you wearing a dress to the wedding, Kurt?” Santana’s laughter could’ve woken the neighbors on the top floor.

Kurt started to resent the both of them there and then.

* * *

 

“No! Red roses are completely unacceptable. Why would I wrap red roses with blue ribbon? That doesn’t work at all! I’m paying you for white roses, and I am going to get white roses! Got it!?” Kurt disconnected the call as violently as he could on a touch screen.

“Kurt, do we really have to send our invitations back with our R.S.V.P.? Or can we just give them to you now?” Kurt’s coworker, Connor, asked just before his lunch break.

“You can give them to me, I guess. Considering I needed to know this information like a week ago. But that’s fine. Just make it harder for the groom to get things finalized. It’s not like he’s really stressed out with work and wedding planning and ruined dinners while trying not to piss off his roommate and fiancé and his coworkers - who can’t send back a wedding invitation on time!”

Conner shared a look with Andrew, who had come with him to inquire about wedding invitations. Ok. You need a break. Come on, impromptu bachelor party lunch break.”

* * *

 

“Sorry for the lack of planning, but we assumed your brother or someone would throw you one. But since the wedding’s so soon I guess this is what you’re going to get.”

Kurt stood in the doorway of the establishment, “I cannot believe that you’ve brought me to a strip club on my lunch break.”  
“Well you seem really busy, so I feel like this is all the time you have. But this club comes highly recommended by roommate.”

Kurt looked around, “Speaking of roommates,” he walked over to the bar, “This is your second job? Really?”

“Kurt! What the hell are you doing here?” The only word Kurt could use to describe the look on Santana’s face would be panicked. “You need to leave. Now!” That was confusing; he thought she would be thrilled for him by being within a five block radius of a strip club.

“Excuse me; I’m at my bachelor party. One Manhattan, barkeep.” Wanting to keep her job (though she obviously knew Kurt was underage), she made his drink. As he sipped his Manhattan he failed to notice her frantic texting.

“Kurt! Come here! We have a surprise!” Deciding to humor the boys - after all he _was_ getting married and why shouldn’t he get a party? - he walked over and let them put him in a lone seat directly in front of the stage. Kurt was pretty sure he knew what his surprise was.

The lights dimmed and a song Kurt briefly recognized as one of Blaine’s favorites started playing over the sound system. LINK TO SONG

Connor said something and Kurt turned his head to look at him and laugh, but when he tuned his head back to the stage he stopped.

“Oh. My. God.”

* * *

 

Blaine’s shift was about to end, but as he went to go get dressed; he was stopped by a couple of men asking how much it would be for a lap dance for their friend. They told him that Blaine was ‘just his type’ and it would be a great surprise. Not in a position to turn down money (that would be going towards his honeymoon), he agreed to do this one last job for the day.

Of course he wasn’t expecting to come out and see his fiancé sitting in front of the stage, laughing and surrounded by men who Blaine assumed were his coworkers from Vogue.

He was trying to slip back behind the curtain, but before he could Kurt turned his head back to the stage. The look of happiness that was there a second ago was gone. Blaine couldn’t hear him over the pounding music, but he could clearly see Kurt mouth ‘Oh my god’.

Blaine was frozen in his spot but clearly Kurt didn’t have that problem when he stood up and ran out of the club.

* * *

 

Kurt didn’t go back to work that day. He couldn’t stand having to face the guys and tell them the man they paid to give him a lap dance was the man he was marrying. He wandered until he found a diner that didn’t look too busy.

He sat in a corner booth and waited for the waitress to come over and take his order. The moment he sat down he pulled his phone out of the pocket. Seven missed calls already; six from Blaine, one from Santana. He was then reminded not only of Blaine’s deception, but his best friend’s. How could they keep something like this from him? Admittedly he didn’t know Blaine as well as he should, but Santana was the most honest person he knew. Granted, her brutal honesty hurt more that it helped, but still, he’d rather have been hurt in the privacy of his home instead of in front of a bunch of people. He was feeling so embarrassed, and pissed, and betrayed. Once again his future was up in the air, all because of Blaine.

Kurt briefly wondered if he was overreacting to this situation. He didn’t exactly ask Blaine where he worked. It never actually dawned on him to find out; after all, it was only temporary. And he wasn’t really angry at Blaine’s choice of job; people did what they had to do. It was definitely the lying, the both of them lying, that was bothering him the most. He just couldn’t understand the both of them going behind his back like this. But at least he finally understood how they got to their strange relationship. A small victory.

* * *

 

“Why am I even here?” Kurt asked as he plopped down onto the chair at Callbacks, “I should be moping with a tube of cookie dough mourning the loss of faith in the people I care about.”

“Look, I told you why I couldn’t tell you about Blaine before and I’m sorry. The last thing I want to do is lose your friendship considering everything we’ve been through. But I think you’re blowing this out of proportion. Yes, we lied to you and that was bad. But really think about it, Blaine was ashamed of his job. I mean, who was going to hire someone who only has a temporary visa in this country? He was still learning about America and getting used to this place. So he took the job he could get. And he hated it. He really did. And I guess he didn’t tell you because he didn’t want to have to see the look on your face, the one you had when you actually did find out.”

“So why are you telling me this instead of him.”

Santana actually looked dejected when she said “Because he’s letting you go. And he’ll never say this to your face.”

“He’s letting me go?”

“Yup. Back to Russia I assume. But I figured he deserved a few minutes on an American stage.” Santana turned to look straight ahead, where Kurt had completely missed Blaine’s ascent to the stage.

“Hello, everyone. My name is Blaine, and this is my first and last night on this stage. But I would like to sing a [song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nkFq1hv6L8) for Kurt, who I promised a song to months ago.”

_Slow down, lie down_

_Remember it's just you and me_

_Don't sell out, bow out_

_Remember how this used to be_

_I just want you closer_

_Is that alright_

_Baby let's get closer tonight_

_Grant my last request_

_And just let me hold you_

_Don't shrug your shoulders_

_Lay down beside me_

_Sure I can accept that we're going nowhere_

_But one last time let's go there_

_Lay down beside me_

* * *

 

The ride home was incredibly awkward, the three of them crowded together in a cramped subway car. No one said a thing until they were back at the apartment in their respective bedrooms.

As Kurt walked into their room, and it dawned on him that it really was _theirs_ now, and he didn’t want it to just be _his_ anymore.

“Thank you. For the song. You are really talented; I’m sure you’d make it here.”

“Maybe I would have,” Blaine didn’t look up from packing his suitcase.

Kurt figured this was his last shot, “Please don’t leave. Please.”

“Kurt. There have been so many bad things since you said yes to me. This obviously is not going to work. I really think I should just go. Back to Russia. This was all just a stupid mistake.”

“It wasn’t a mistake, it-“

“Kurt, just drop it. I am leaving. That is final.”

Fuck. “I think I love you.” That made Blaine turn from his packing.

“No you don’t.”

“You’re right. But I could love you. If you stayed.”  
“You can’t make me stay by telling me you love me. Or with sex, like I know you are going to try next.”

“See! You already know me so well!”

“Kurt, stop. I-“

“Just tell me what I have to do to make you stay. Just please. Please don’t go. I don’t care what you do. I don’t care about anything except you, me, and this marriage, okay? I made a promise to you when I said I’d marry you. But you also made a promise to me. You told me you’d make me happy. Well I’m not happy now.”

“Exactly. I broke my promise to you. I have caused you suffering and I cannot stand that, Kurt. I need to leave you or I will just hurt you more. Goodbye, Kurt.”

No. “Blaine!”


	9. Chapter 9

Even after numerous phone calls and visits Kurt was unsuccessful in fixing this stupid mistake. He couldn’t believe it. After all the time and effort he put into this, to have it completely screwed up, was more than Kurt could bear.

Red. His roses were fucking red.

How many times had he called the florist and demanded white roses? There was no way in hell he was paying for them. Especially considering it was the night before his wedding and he had the entire wedding party out scouring the city for white roses.

He was totally going to sue them for ruining this for him.

Since they didn’t have enough money for a proper rehearsal dinner he had invited a couple of his friends and family over for dinner that night. Of course that group included his boss, Isabelle and halfway through the meal she took a phone call from the friend who had offered up her house for the wedding. The florist had delivered the roses that night - and they were red.

The meal was cut short and everyone in attendance pulled on their heavy jackets and snow boots to prepare for a very serious scavenger hunt.

Kurt’s phone vibrated in his pocket. It was a text from Santana: _I found some. Enough for my bouquet and a few centerpieces._

It was late and he was sure everyone else was just as tired as he was. He sent out a mass text: _Santana found a reasonable amount of roses so everyone’s free to go home. Thanks for your help. See you tomorrow._

As Kurt trudged through the gray sludge that passed for snow in the city he wondered how bad the reception would look without centerpieces. But thank god the wedding was at night, or there was no way he’d even have time to fix the flowers.

* * *

 

Blaine had beaten him home but Santana was still out. Kurt assumed she was taking care of the flower delivery for the next day. He was suddenly very thankful for her presence, yet also worried about what kind of date she’d be bringing tomorrow. Luckily Blaine distracted him from thinking any more about Santana.

“This is our last night as single men.”

“Yeah. Tomorrow night we’ll be married. That’s so weird. Like I’m actually going to have a _husband._ ”

“Were you expecting a wife?” Blaine teased.

“Very funny, Kurt deadpanned, “No, I just always thought I’d get married when I was in my thirties and that I’d already be a famous fashion designer and have a loft overlooking Central Park.”

“I am sorry I ruined your plans.”

“No, Blaine, you didn’t ruin them. They were silly anyway. No one really knows how their life’s going to play out. And for only being 20, I’d say my life’s turning out pretty good.”

“I’m glad. We should go to sleep; we have a long drive tomorrow and a lot of work ahead of us.”

“Yeah. Goodnight, Mr. Anderson.”

“Goodnight, Mr. Hummel.”

* * *

 

Kurt and Blaine forewent the tradition of not seeing each other on their wedding day; they were much too busy for that, and besides, what else could go wrong? They arrived at Isabelle’s friend's giant waterfront house at 10:30 and then went straight to work wrapping the dark blue ribbon from the red roses around the white ones.

Then Kurt left Blaine to help with the table arrangements while he went to talk to the caterers. Luckily, they actually knew what they were doing, so Kurt left the reception area confident in their ability to not fuck things up.

* * *

 

As the hours passed more and more guests showed up. It was a small wedding (there weren’t a lot of people he _could_ invite), just family and friends from work and glee club. Kurt felt a little guilty considering most of them were totally oblivious to the fact that Blaine needed American citizenship and that was the reason they were getting married.  Not to mention that everyone in attendance was there for him. Blaine had no one.

Which was why, an hour before the wedding, Santana was getting ready in Blaine’s dressing area. Kurt felt that Blaine should have someone on their wedding day so he gave Santana permission to be Blaine’s maid of honor while Kurt asked Finn to be his best man.

“You wanna zip me up?” Santana asked as she walked out of the bathroom. Her dress was made of deep blue fabric, to match the ribbon on the bouquets, and a white rose was pinned in her hair.

“Sure. You look beautiful, Santana,” Blaine said as he zipped her up.

“I know. But thanks. You don’t look too bad yourself.” She turned around and looked him up and down, “If I weren’t a lesbian and you weren’t about to get married I would totally sleep with you.”

“Thank you.” At this point in their friendship Blaine had learned to take any compliments from Santana without question.

Santana walked over to the table where a boutonniere was waiting for Blaine. She stood in front of him as she fastened it to his suit. When she was done she made a few small adjustments and then asked “You ready to go get married?”

* * *

 

Burt had been dreading this day for years. He was sure that no matter who Kurt deemed to pick, there would never be a man good enough for his son. Kurt was wonderful, and special, and Burt was pretty sure that this Blaine was not going to be the husband that Kurt deserved. After their visit on Thanksgiving Burt had given the boy the benefit of the doubt and of course it’s not like he didn’t trust his son - No, Burt doubted this boy’s worthiness because of what happened only a few weeks ago.

_Burt was about to turn the TV off and head upstairs when the phone rang. He picked up when he saw Kurt’s name, but before he could say anything, his son’s voice came out of the speaker saying “He’s gone” over and over again. Burt managed to calm him down and get the story out of him._

_To be completely honest Burt understood where Blaine was coming from and was secretly glad that Blaine had made the decision to call the wedding off. But of course he would never tell Kurt that, especially with how broken he sounded right now. All he could say was “Maybe it’s for the best,” and hear Kurt’s “But it’s not! What is he going to do now?”_

_Burt didn’t know, and frankly didn’t care; anyone who made Kurt cry like that wasn’t worth the thought. So after a few more minutes Burt told him to call him if he needed anything and that he loved him, and hung up._

So he didn’t quite understand when, a few days later, Kurt had called him back and said that everything was fine and the wedding was still on. But he knew that he could never forget the way Kurt sounded on the phone that night and the chance that he would ever forgive Blaine for causing Kurt to feel like that was slim. But he promised Kurt that he would be there and be supportive.

Burt always pictured his son’s wedding, walking him down the aisle towards a man who would love his son with all his heart, not some random guy his son picked up that was, in Burt’s opinion, just using him for a green card. But he did trust his son’s judgment, and he hoped that this wouldn’t end up hurting his son any more than it already had.

“Looking sharp, kid.”

“You think so? Maybe I should’ve gone with a different color-“

“Kurt, stop. He’s going to love you.” Maybe that wasn’t the best thing to say considering the situation but it seemed to calm Kurt down. “You ready to do this?”

* * *

 

Blaine was the first one down the aisle, walking by himself, considering his entire family was a few thousand miles away. But he smiled at all the people he didn’t recognize and the ones he did but couldn’t remember their names. He saw Carole in the front row, who gave him a reassuring smile. Next was Santana and Finn; Blaine thought they made an odd looking couple and Blaine remembered Kurt telling him about Finn and Santana’s strange relationship throughout high school. He wondered if it was awkward for them.

But Blaine was jolted out of his thoughts when it was Kurt’s turn to walk down the aisle. He was stunning in his suit. And he looked so _happy._ After all Blaine had put him through, he was still smiling at Blaine like they really were two people in love and about to vow their entire lives to each other and wow, maybe Kurt did love him.

As Kurt and his father reached the end of the aisle, Burt placed Kurt’s hand into Blaine’s, and tried not to glare too hard at the boy before he turned to sit in the front row next to Carole.

The ceremony went as planned; there were no objections (surprisingly), and Blaine managed to find his voice after being struck speechless by Kurt minutes before.

* * *

 

The reception area was right down the hall, so Kurt and Blaine didn’t have much time between their exit down the aisle and the start of the reception to be alone together. But they worked with what they had.

“We’re actually married,” Kurt said between kisses, “We actually did it.”

“Yeah we did.”

Neither of them could stop smiling as they kissed in a fairly secluded hallway off the main room. They heard the DJ announce their names, which was their signal to enter the reception area for their first dance.

“I hope you picked a good song,” Kurt asked as they made their way towards the dance floor.

"I hope I did too."

* * *

_Wise men say only fools rush in_

_But I can't help falling in love with you_

_Shall I stay_

_Would it be a sin_

_If I can't help falling in love with you_

Halfway through the song Kurt laid his head on Blaine’s shoulder, “I’m really glad you came back.”

“Me too.”

_Like a river flows surely to the sea_

_Darling so it goes_

_Some things are meant to be_

_Take my hand, take my whole life too_

_For I can't help falling in love with you_

* * *

 

“So, as the maid of honor, I would like to congratulate Kurt and Blaine and I will try my hardest not to embarrass you.”

She then spent the next two minutes embarrassing them. Kurt wasn’t sure if he could ever look into his father’s eyes again without feeling embarrassed.

But then, as the father of one of the grooms, it was Burt’s turn to make a speech. “Well there’s no way I can top that speech but I’ll try. When my step-son’s ex-girlfriend told me that Kurt was going to get married, I was a little shocked. I had always envisioned the way my son would tell me and an argument over the phone about his relationship was not what I pictured. But here we are, months later, celebrating their marriage. But I would like to present my son and son-in-law with my – I mean our, sorry Carole – wedding gift.” He gave an envelope to Kurt, who opened it with Blaine looking over his shoulder.

“You paid for our honeymoon?” Kurt and Blaine looked up at Burt questioningly.

“You mentioned last week that you couldn’t go anywhere, so I - sorry, we – decided that you guys deserved a break. So congratulations, Kurt and Blaine. Good luck.”

* * *

 

The next few hours consisted of Blaine and Kurt dancing while their guests digressed into drunkards; one side effect of an open bar and no one enforcing the drinking age. To Kurt, it was basically The Rachel Berry House Party Train Wreck Extravaganza all over again, but with nicer decorations and just as many wasted adults. Santana was making out with her date in a corner when Finn stumbled over to Blaine on the dance floor and put his arm around his shoulders, talking about how he “always wanted a little brother.” Everyone who should never be dancing was and Kurt and Blaine were nearly knocked over by Puck and his date when they decided to try line dancing.

Luckily, after that the party started winding down, it became socially acceptable for Kurt and Blaine to leave to celebrate their wedding night. Their guests escorted them to the front of the house and threw confetti as they slid into the limo waiting to take them back to the city.

Ten minutes into the drive home found Kurt and Blaine slumped against each other in the limo.

“I am so glad I didn’t have to drive us home.” Kurt sighed.

“Hmm.” Blaine sleepily mumbled in reply.

“You falling asleep on me?” Kurt smiled.

“Hmm.”

“I guess we’ll take a rain check on our wedding night.”

“Rain check?”

“Yeah. We’ll have lots of sex tomorrow when we’re less tired, okay?”

“’Kay.”

A few minutes of silence passed as Kurt tuned out Blaine’s light snoring, but he sat up a little straighter as he focused on the voices on the radio.

“Hey, Blaine. Wake up.”

“What?”

“It’s almost midnight. And I want you to be awake with me on New Year’s. So we can start the year off right.”

That seemed to be enough to wake Blaine up. Kurt reached up to adjust the volume on the radio so they could hear the countdown easier.

As the final ten seconds passed, Blaine looked at Kurt, “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For everything.”

_3…2…1…HAPPY NEW YEAR!_

As the radio broadcasted live from Times Square, the couple in the limo kissed, and hoped the new year would bring peace into their hectic new lives together.


	10. Chapter 10

“Santana! We’re back,” Kurt mumbled under his breath. “Not that you probably care.”

“Is she even home?” Blaine asked as they dragged their luggage into their bedroom.

“I don’t know. At least we can unpack in peace.”

“I don’t want to unpack,” Blaine whined as he flung himself face first onto the bed. “I want to sleep.” The past week had taken a lot out of him, and now he could relax for a few days before going back to work. “Come lay down with me.”

“But the clothes! They’ll get wrinkled,” Kurt half-heartedly protested as he laid down next to him.

“They’re already wrinkled. Just come lay down.”

“Fine.” Kurt crawled into bed and pillowed his head on Blaine’s chest. “But just for a minute.”

Four hours later they were awoken by the sound of a door closing and loud and female laughing.

“Santana’s home,” Blaine mumbled sleepily.

“And it sounds like she brought a friend. Come on, let’s go spy.”

For them, spying consisted of standing in their doorway watching Santana kiss and flirt with a girl in their living room. After a few minutes, the girl noticed them and said, “I thought you lived alone.”

“What?” She finally noticed the boys. “No. Those are my roommates. They were on vacation.”

“Aren’t you going to introduce us?”

“Fine. Allie, this is Kurt and Blaine. Guys, this is Allie.”

“Hi Allie,” they said in unison.

“Hi. I should really be going, Santana. It was nice meeting you two.” She turned around and left the apartment.

“Good job, guys. You scared her off.”

“We missed you too, Santana.”

* * *

 

The next morning, Santana woke them up with two mugs of coffee, eagerly awaiting all the horny details about their honeymoon.

“Yeah, like we’re going to tell you anything about our sex life.”

“It’s not like I can’t hear you guys going at it at night.” When they both gave her a look she continued, “What? Thin walls. And Kurt, no matter how many times you tell Blaine to be quiet, he’s still going to make those noises. So until you decide you want to kick things up a notch and buy him a gag, don’t be expecting any sense of privacy in this place.”

Everyone was quiet for a moment, and then “I missed this.”

* * *

 

At first, Kurt wasn’t sure what had woken him. Then he realized that for the first time in weeks, Blaine wasn’t next to him.

It took him a few moments of panic to remember that Blaine was at work, and judging by the glowing numbers on his clock, Blaine would be working for a few more hours. But as hard as he tried, Kurt could not fall back asleep. He dragged his comforter to the living room and settled in on the couch to wait for Blaine. After all, it’s not like he had anywhere to go in the morning.

_Three weeks earlier_

_“So Kurt, you probably know why I called you in here.”_

_“Because_ Vogue _isn’t doing internships anymore?” Kurt had been waiting for this moment since he first heard the news._

_“Yes.” Isabelle shifted from boss to friend as she made eye contact with him. “You know that I think you are a wonderful, talented, young man with a lot of potential.” Kurt was waiting for the ‘but’, “but the higher ups have decided not to hire you as a full employee. I’m really sorry, Kurt.”_

_“It’s okay. It’s not your fault.” Kurt knew it was unlikely that he would get the position, but he was hoping against hope that he impressed the right people. “I guess I’ll go clean out my desk.”_

_Before he left, Isabelle had told him he could use her as a job reference and that his last paycheck was in the mail. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with tons of people on the subway, but halfway through his taxi ride he realized that he should probably start saving money. At the next red light he gave the cab driver his fare and got out. The few blocks to his apartment felt like miles, each step bringing him closer to the two people he couldn’t bear to let down._

_He didn’t even know what he was going to say. ‘Hey I know it’s been super stressful with the wedding and the honeymoon, but I got fired today. Oh, and now we can’t afford any of our luxuries like water and electricity.’ Or ‘Hey, you know what’s really trendy right now? Hunger strikes. We may as well do it for a good cause considering we can’t buy food anymore.’_

_As he walked up the stairs and down the hallway to the apartment, he could hear laughing through the door, and he felt terrible for ruining what looked to be a good night._

_“Kurt, you’re home early.”_

_“Yeah. I got fired.” Well, that was one way to tell them._

_“What!?” Santana shrieked, “Are you kidding me? We’re barely getting by, and now we have even less money? Great! Fucking great!”_

_“Will you calm down? I can get another job. Probably not as nice as working at_ Vogue, _but seriously, don’t worry.” Funny, since all he’s done for the past couple hours is worry._

_“And what about you, Blaine. What do you have to say? After all, your husband basically just guaranteed that you have to keep working at that club.”_

_“Why are you being so nasty about this? I mean I know you’re a bitch but you know this isn’t my fault.”_

_“You should’ve found a more stable job and not an internship. Now you have no income, and we’re going to be evicted! So pack your bags, we’re all going back to Ohio!” With that she stormed into her room and slammed the door. Kurt couldn’t do anything but stand there and stare at the chair where she had been smiling and laughing only a few moments ago. He was jolted out of his staring by Blaine, who had gotten up from the couch and wrapped his arms around Kurt._

_“It is going to be okay. You’re not going back there, I promise.” Kurt briefly remembered himself uttering those words to Blaine as he held him that night in December. “Someone will see how talented you are and they will offer you all the money in the world to work for them.”_

_Kurt stifled a laugh in Blaine’s sweatshirt, “I’m glad you have such high expectations of me, but I might have to settle for a little less than ‘all the money in the world.’”_

_“Well no matter what happens, we will be okay. All of us.”_

_Kurt could only hope that was true. “I really love you a lot.”_

_“I know.”_

As it turned out, finding a job in Manhattan was a lot more difficult than Kurt thought. The internship had pretty much fallen into his lap; he hadn’t really had to work too hard to get it. But finding a job was hard. He spent most of his days filling out online applications and typing up cover letters. He even ventured out into the city to apply for jobs in person.

Weeks later and he was still searching.

He was only an hour into a marathon of _Law & Order _(Blaine’s new TV addiction) when he heard keys in the lock. Kurt sat up to greet Blaine, but when he came through the door he looked a little worse for wear.

“Hey. I thought you weren’t getting off until 2.” Blaine dropped onto the couch next to Kurt and quickly pulled him into a hug.

“My boss let me leave early after one of the customers got too grabby with me. It did not make me feel good so my boss said ‘go home to your husband.’ And now that man is never allowed in the club again.” Kurt may not have loved Blaine’s job, but he did appreciate his boss. “I wish I did not have to do this anymore.”

“I know, honey. I know you’d quit if we didn’t need the money.” Kurt always felt a spike of guilt every time Blaine or Santana came home exhausted from a long shift.

“Oh. That reminds me,” Blaine reached inside his jacket to the hidden pocket and pulled out a wad of bills, “for the water bill,” and threw it on the coffee table.

“Speaking of which, you really need a shower. You’re going to make the couch smell.” Blaine stood up in front of Kurt and stretched, his shirt riding up a bit. “And to make you feel better, and in the interest of conserving our hot water, I think I should join you.”


End file.
